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'DWTS': Lost clothing and a sentimental goodbye

By Jacquie Oliverius, Correspondent, Bay Area News Group

Posted:
10/08/2013 04:26:16 AM MDT

Updated:
10/08/2013 04:35:51 AM MDT

Monday night's "Dancing With the Stars" had a bit of everything -- contestants battling sickness and injuries, a wide range of dance styles and even the possibility of sibling rivalry. Past DWTS pro Julianne Hough (Season 4-8) and two-time champion was the guest judge while head judge Len Goodman was tending to his commitments to "Strictly Come Dancing," the British counterpart of DWTS.

Because Julianne's brother, Derek, is the reigning champ paired with Amber Riley, who knew what would happen, plus the elimination could have been a shocker. But Julianne was an amazing judge, offering a balance of compliments and words of advice on improvements. "I am a fair and honest judge," she said. "It is not about the professionals, it is about the celebrity dancers." Len had better watch out before she grabs his chair for good.

And the elimination wasn't a great surprise. After host Tom Bergeron and co-host Brooke Burke-Charvet named all of the couples who were safe, only Valerie Harper and Tristan MacManus, Nicole Polizzi and Sasha Farber, and Brant Daugherty and Peta Murgatroyd were left in jeopardy. Once Nicole and Sasha were declared safe, the elimination of Valerie and Tristan was almost a foregone conclusion.

For the past weeks, their scores were at or near the bottom of the leaderboard, and tonight was no different. Judge Carrie Ann Inaba told Valerie that there were beautiful moments in their Viennese waltz but that made her mistake stand out more, and judge Bruno Tonioli said she painted a pretty picture and that she shouldn't show her mistakes but to "act over them.

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" Valerie and Tristan have been putting her best foot forward but she often lost her balance or forgot the routine completely.

Valerie was very gracious in her exit speech, as the audience and judges gave her a standing ovation. "It has been absolutely wonderful, completely unique, like nothing you would ever do," she said about her experience on the show. "It was an opportunity for me to carry a message to folks, not just with cancer but with whatever challenge, line our song tonight, keep on keeping on."

Asked about his connection to Valerie, Tristan said, "Sometimes you're very lucky to do well with a partner and sometimes you're very lucky with a person in your life. I feel my life is better since meeting her." And Valerie continued to thank the judges ("I respect what they do") and all of the others on the show, urging everyone to "get out and dance!"

I wondered at first if this new format for DWTS would work, but it's great. The show is tight with lots of dancing, and each week, there is a different way of introducing the celebrities. This week, there was an awesome opening number choreographed by Ray Leeper, taking another page from "So You Think You Can Dance." The judges were even part of the number, boogying their way down the stairs before Julianne was introduced.

Then it was time for the dances, broken up only by Brooke's interviews. First up was Jack Osbourne and Cheryl Burke doing a quickstep, one of the most difficult dances. Despite his worry, Jack did a great job, especially with the footwork. Julianne reminded him to show how much he was enjoying the dance, although Carrie Ann thought he was "way more animated" and Bruno praised him for his footwork.

Elizabeth Berkley Lauren and Val Chmerkovskiy had the Argentine tango and part of her rehearsal process was a long staring contest to improve their connection. Kind of strange, but it worked because their dance was amazing. Carrie Ann told them that she loved what they did with the story, and Julianne said Elizabeth was one of her favorites and commended Val for his choreography.

Injuries were one theme for Brooke tonight as she pointed out that Valerie, Tristan, Mark Ballas and Amber Riley had knee problems, while Brant still had a foot injury and an old bike accident kept him from doing lifts. Brant and Peta were up next with a salsa, but the rehearsal footage made me fear that he might toss her on her head since she still included a couple in the routine. Halfway through the dance, he threw off his shirt, but it worked against him. Carrie Ann said that when he took off his shirt, it was easy to see that his salsa "was a little broken," and Julianne called it "a little loosey-goosey" and could have been tighter -- while there was a bit of flirting going on. Bruno pointed out that when Brant increased the entertainment, he lost the technique.

Leah Remini and Tony Dovolani had a cha-cha-cha tonight, and she seemed more relaxed and enjoying herself while dancing. Her sparkling gold outfit was great and emphasized many of her moves. Bruno compliment her on her attitude, Carrie Ann said she was "in the zone" and Julianne though she had strong footwork although she needs to stretch out more to match the intensity.

The paso doble by Corbin Bleu and Karina Smirnoff had the audience on their feet cheering. Carrie Ann loved its intensity but cautioned Corbin on the little bit of hip-hop that showed up in the routine. Julianne thanked the couple for "doing no gimmicks" and Bruno called it "the pure essence of paso doble."

Nicole ("Snooki") and Sasha had the jive, but it was a long week for them, traveling back and forth to the East Coast, and she looked very tired -- until she started dancing. It was filled with footwork and some acrobatics, and I'm starting to warm to her. Julianne said she was performing now but there should have been more of a connection with Sasha, and Bruno said it was a little like a Lindy hop but brilliant.

The foxtrot by Christina Milian and Mark Ballas was smooth, sultry and very well done, although Bruno pointed out that she needs to work on dancing in hold. Carrie Ann thought Christina "performed the heck out of the number" but Julianne had the line of night. After saying that she was looking forward to Christina showing a softer side and dancing more in hold than side by side, she said about Mark attraction to the spotlight, "I've danced with Mark. You have to stand in front to be sure you're seen." He just smiled.

Then it was time to see how fair a judge Julianne could be -- Derek and Amber performed a tango after a short rehearsal time, due to her knee problems. She was obviously wearing a brace, but the routine was outstanding and there were nothing but kudos. Carrie Ann said Amber was in fine form, with crisp, clean footwork, Julianne was wondering if the tight, contained dance would work and it did, and Bruno called it a "pure, classic, amazing tango."
The last dance of the night was Bill Engvall and Emma Slater doing a samba. It was a lot of fun, if not a precise samba. Julianne called Bill "the heart of the show," and Bruno, in what he thought was a compliment, said, "It had everything you could wish for in a samba except timing and rhythm." Carrie Ann wasn't sure what kind of samba it was, but she said it was entertaining.

After Carrie Ann complimented Julianne on her great judging, Tom said that the voice in his ear (not the ones in his head) told him that the scores from their dance plus the viewers' scores from last week were "sufficient to tell you that you're safe!" Wow! Bill celebrated, threw his hat into the audience and twirled Emma around in the air. Every week, there's something new.

Next week's theme is "The Most Memorable Year of My Life" for the dances, and we'll see what the celebs and pros come up with. The scores so far seem high to me, with nowhere to go. Although there hasn't been a 10 (yet), so many 8s and 9s for only Week 4 seems excessive. What do you think? Do you think that Valerie was the right one to go home, or should it have been Brant or Bill? See you next week -- keep dancing!

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